Cold Feet

I can finally say that I'm warming up to the idea of practicum. I had about a week before school started where I had convinced myself that I was going to quit everything and go back to school for nursing. However, I figured that I'd put a lot of effort in to get this far and I might as well give it a chance. Now I am glad that I did. After the first week I felt a bit better, but by Sunday I was panicked again. Anybody else feel that way? At this point I'm still a bit nervous about being thrown into a completely new environment, but I'm warming up to the idea of talking in front of crowds - I'm actually looking forward to some of the mini-lessons we have to do in other classes.

So how did we get here? Well, having great instructors certainly helps. As I said before, as long as it was a weekday I felt OK about the prospect of practicum. We are being given constant encouragement and attention to all our questions and concerns. It helps to realize that we're all in the same boat, and all teachers had to teach their first class sometime.

I'm sure you've all seen this video by now but every time I see it I start to feel proud about what I'm doing and remember why I'm here in the first place:

Let's Get Twitterpated!

In this day and age where nearly everyone is hooked on Facebook, one can't help but wonder what the benefit of having another social networking account which is ostensibly made up of a collection of status updates. I suppose the purpose is determined by what the "tweeter" is "tweeting"; at this point it can range from the mundane "so and so is walking to class" to an effective news or communication tool. I believe that the fear of the former is responsible for the common hate on Twitter. Maybe by the end of this class we will all be converted "Twitter-teachers".

I personally have had twitter for a year or so, but I mainly used it to follow things that were happening in Victoria, politicians, and a few friends who are hooked. I guess the term "lurker" applies, though that just makes me feel creepy! I never tweeted because I figure if I'm doing something so important that my friends NEED to know, I'll just update my facebook status (or, heaven forbid, call them!). I guess in the end I'm open to the idea of Twitter, I just never had a real purpose to use it until now.

As far as using Twitter in the classroom goes (presumably for students who can't make it to class), I feel like it might become more of a nuisance or distraction than a useful tool; however, I am open to having my mind changed. Who knew that email would become the old fashioned way of communicating so soon!

First Post!

As usual I have no idea what to write for a blog post... since we've all had so much practice introducing ourselves lately I guess I'll start there!

My name is Lindsey. I just graduated from UVic with an English degree in April 2010, and my teaching areas are art and English. I've known that I've wanted to teach English for awhile now, but this whole art thing is relatively new to me, so we will see how that goes! I'm originally from Penticton BC, but I've lived in Victoria for 5 years now, and it's pretty much home to me now. I come from a huge family, so I've grown accustomed to having lots of people around me all the time. Other than school I like to read non-academically, play piano, go to shows (live music, theatre, movies, whatever), and partake in political-junkie activities.

I apologize if this is the thousandth time you've all heard these things!